China lockdowns and Ukraine war hit European container capacity

Europe is facing a container shortage due to lockdowns in China as well as the Russia-Ukraine war according to a recent analysis by Container xChange.

Christian Roeloffs, co-founder and CEO of Container xChange, said: “Ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam handled a lower volume of containers in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period last year.

“The containers meant for the ports in Europe are now piling up at the ports in China (due to the lockdowns), potentially causing a greater chaos in the coming weeks or even months. If the lockdowns persist, the throughput volumes will be further impacted in the coming months for these ports in Europe.”